Oversea Chinese Fund Limited Partnership, et al.

On April 3, 2009, the SEC obtained a temporary restraining order, asset freeze and other relief in connection with an alleged multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme and affinity fraud. According to the complaint, from at least as early as 2004 to the present, Weizhen Tang orchestrated a fraudulent scheme through Oversea Chinese Fund Limited Partnership, a hedge fund, and other entities he controlled, by raising between $50 million and $75 million from more than 200 investors. The SEC alleged that Tang (the self-described “Chinese Warren Buffet”) admitted to investors that the hedge fund operated as a Ponzi scheme since at least 2006.

According to the complaint, Tang told investors in February 2009 that he and the hedge fund posted false profits on investors’ account statements for the purpose of concealing substantial trading losses and to attract new investors. Further, the SEC alleged that Tang admitted he used funds from new investors to return principal and pay out “fake” profits to other investors, despite significant trading losses incurred during that time.

For more information about the SEC’s action, you can read Litigation Release No. 20988 (Apr. 6, 2009).

The Court also appointed Tom Tong as Receiver to take control of the assets of entities Tang used to solicit funds from U.S. investors, including WinWin Capital Limited Partnership, J.O.R. & Associates, LLC, WinWin Capital Management, LLC, an investment advisor, and two relief defendants, WinWin Capital Partners, LP and Bluejay Investment, LLC, d/b/a Vintage International Investment, LLC.